EyeWorld Education

EyeWorld, along with ASCRS as the accrediting body co-sponsor, is pleased to announce EyeWorld Education, a unique, engaging, data-driven approach to independent medical education programming. EyeWorld Education is designed to provide high quality, focused medical education to physicians. A staff of uniquely qualified education developers, in conjunction with the ASCRS Clinical Committees and CME Subcommittee, work with a program’s moderator and faculty to produce effective and efficient program design, planning, and execution. A team of statisticians is assigned to create superior outcomes reporting previously unavailable to commercial supporters. The new approach to independent medical education was fully introduced at the 2013 ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress and was met with resounding success by faculty, session attendees, and corporate supporters.

The basic tenets instrumental in the development of this program are centered on effective planning, compliant education, and compelling programming. The strategy involves a unique approach to the design of independent medical education through all three phases of program delivery: program design and development, program delivery, and outcomes reporting.

Program design and development

EyeWorld and ASCRS annually use a variety of primary and secondary resources to develop a needs assessment report that is reviewed and approved by its CME Committee. The ASCRS Clinical Survey is now a significant tool in developing this needs assessment.

At the 2017 ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress, more than 1,500 physicians responded to the ASCRS Clinical Survey. This survey is part of an ongoing effort to significantly increase our understanding of opinions and attitudes of the ASCRS members with respect to a wide assortment of clinical issues. The survey asked ASCRS members 209 questions related to current ophthalmic issues faced on a regular basis. The goal is to obtain clinical opinion and practice pattern data from a significant percentage of the membership to assist the ASCRS and EyeWorld leadership in determining where educational gaps are present that may be addressed through focused educational programming.

By distilling and prioritizing the areas where IME is most clearly required, our objective is to provide more sharply focused learning objectives, enabling EyeWorld and ASCRS to create more compelling programming in a compliant environment.

After studying the feedback provided by past moderators of various programs, we realize that the concisely targeted objectives produced under this enhanced process will require facilitator assistance. EyeWorld will assign a facilitator to assist the moderator in working with the faculty. The facilitator is not there to influence the direction of the content; the facilitator is there to make certain that the content addresses the focused learning objectives, assist each faculty member in slide design and presentation effectiveness, and assist the moderator in making certain that all content is delivered in a timely fashion for compliance review. The facilitator’s primary function is to make certain that all content is uniquely developed for the specific goals of the program, and is compelling and captures the attendee’s attention, which is critical to effecting practice and opinion changes.

Program deliveryEven the best-designed and developed programs can fail if they are not delivered to the audience in an efficient and compelling manner. EyeWorld is known for its attention to detail in the design of the room; we now extend that reputation to cover the logistics of program delivery. The same facilitator assigned for program development and delivery will also be present at the event. The facilitator will completely “stage manage” the event as a producer, relieving the moderator of all logistical responsibilities so that the moderator can focus on guiding the faculty and attendees through the program. The facilitator is there to encourage engaging programming that creates a compelling environment to learn.

Outcomes reporting

Funding for CME activities by commercial supporters has come under increasing pressure over the last several years. Various IME departments within industry are continually asked to demonstrate the effectiveness of the education with practical metrics that are easily communicated within organizations. EyeWorld has committed itself to providing enhanced outcome reporting that will provide both the summary and detailed information necessary to demonstrate the effectiveness of the programming within the organizations.

Currently, EyeWorld and ASCRS are providing Level 4 and some Level 5 outcomes; however, these outcomes reports have previously been designed for personnel with an innate understanding of the process. New reporting will provide IME departments with presentation- ready materials that easily explain the results to those not conversant in the vocabulary of IME. However, for those interested in an even deeper analysis, EyeWorld and ASCRS will provide an optional enhanced report that includes analysis that verify the statistical significance of an enhanced set of data including demographic analysis and declarative change results. The supporter can use this report as part of his/her presentation to demonstrate program effectiveness.

Multi-tactic education under a single plan

The EyeWorld Education program is not only intended to improve the delivery of a single tactic of medical education, such as a symposium. It is also intended to bring together multiple tactics (such as symposia, supplements, webinars, monographs, etc.) under the umbrella of a long-term goal to effect broader change over a period of time. Having multiple tactics aimed at resolving a specific set of education gaps enhances the ability of these programs to effect long-term change over a significant percentage of the targeted audience. The overall goal of EyeWorld Education is to change long-term opinions and behaviors among the ASCRS membership. One of the ways this will be assessed is year-over-year change in the ASCRS Clinical Survey.

EyeWorld intends to demonstrate to all parties that IME education is a valuable and necessary component to the continued education of ASCRS member physicians and the advancement of patient health.

EducationHub.EyeWorld.orgThe EyeWorld Education Hub is a hub or education portal of all IME education organized by disease state. Each individual tactic developed to achieve any educational objectives will be housed on the EyeWorld Hub with open access for viewing online.

Our education hub has been designed as an integral adjunct to the formal CME activities. This portal serves as a central repository for educational materials related to each disease state. The portal includes new content and a library of online CME activities. The materials strengthen the educational message and are instrumental in achieving the educational objectives for the course of study. As with any course of study, students are not expected to learn only from formal class time. They are expected to make use of textbooks and independent study. The portal is designed to fulfill that role, providing a combination of key additional materials and easy access to a library of related information.